Lukoil’s Romanian operations under threat

Authorities ordered the Petrotel oil refinery to stop production to investigate money laundering

The Russian oil major Lukoil’s refining operations in Romania are under threat of nationalisation after the authorities ordered the Petrotel oil refinery to halt production and seized inventories. The move comes as prosecutors investigate allegations of tax evasion and money laundering totaling €230 million ($293.3m) at the Lukoil subsidiary. Lukoil said 13 October that it had restarted production at the refinery, near Ploiesti, after being forced to halt operations following a raid by Romanian prosecutors and police on 2 October. The authorities seized Petrotel’s oil and fuels inventories during the raid. Russia's ambassador to Romania, Oleg Malginov, said in a statement issued on 6 October